Shropshire Star comment: Britain can set green example
The road to a greener future is seemingly paved with high denomination notes. Millions and millions of them.
There's an auction going on. Boris Johnson has pledged £12 billion to make the UK carbon neutral by 2050.
No, no, no says Sian Berry, who is the co-leader of the Green Party, which wants £100 billion to be spent – a year.
That is a mountain of money to find and it would have to be found during a period in which the nation is in dire straits thanks to the devastating economic cost of the Covid-19 pandemic.
For a long time one of the ambitions of the Greens has been to cut down the amount we all fly. The coronavirus crisis has certainly done that, and although the consequential benefits to the environment have not arisen in any way that was planned or desired, it has shown that it is something that could be done.
Yes, it could be done, but the jobs are in jeopardy of many thousands of people working on airlines and at airports, and vague talk of resetting the economy so that there is an upsurge in the numbers of available "greener jobs" is of zero help to them in either the short or medium term.
The Green Party's manifesto is one of sacrifices, through increased taxes imposed on ordinary people, coupled with drastically reduced opportunities for travel, road blocks to proposals to improve the road transport infrastructure, but with increased investment in public transport and encouragement to people to use it more.
If you were to ask the man or woman in the street whether they are in favour of improving the environment and creating a greener future, they would say yes.
The question though would be far too simplistic, presenting a dream without getting into the real-life mechanics of how it would be achieved.
Climate change is a global issue. Britain cannot solve it, but it can set an example in the hope others follow.
The British public is being asked to be supportive of a noble cause. The implication is that we'll all feel good about doing the right thing.
This is an important debate which also needs to be an honest debate, and that includes being open and realistic about the impact the green way forward would have on ordinary Britons.
